Iowa’s steady, long-developing trench piece
Luke Empen has been a classic Iowa developmental offensive lineman: a walk-on who redshirted in 2018, appeared in one game in 2019, and then spent 2020-2021 without game action, which points to a player valued more for depth, practice habits, and system fit than box-score flash. He’s the type of Hawkeye lineman that usually wins coaches over with toughness, consistency, and willingness to grind in a pro-style program—useful if your team wants a reliable, high-character interior line piece, less so if it needs an immediate, high-ceiling starter.
